Planning is key, but so is execution

The text message from Verizon Wireless was unexpected, unsolicited-and welcome.
The pitch arrived on my phone last Tuesday, urging me to take the new ESPN Mobile application and Vcast service for a free 30-day test drive. Verizon Wireless would pick up the $15 bill for a month of Vcast (the ESPN application is free to Vcast subscribers), and I could cancel following the trial if I didn’t want to pay for the content.
To be honest, I’d been meaning to sign up for Vcast ever since the carrier launched ESPN Mobile a couple of months ago. As a hardcore sports fan, I was immediately smitten with the content and user interface the sports network built for its failed MVNO, and $15 a month seems like a reasonable price for the sports content, unlimited access to the wireless Web and all the other goodies included in the basic Vcast package.
The service would pay for itself in fantasy baseball winnings alone, I was sure. I signed up immediately.
“Thank you for your response,” the reply read. “The package you have requested will be added to your service within 48 hours.”
It’s a week later, and I’m still waiting.
Three days after I responded to Verizon’s come-on, I poked around on the deck to make sure I hadn’t been granted access to the service without realizing it. I downloaded the ESPN application only to be told that I needed to be a Vcast subscriber to access the content. Clicking on Vcast video prompted a message telling me I’d need to pay $10 a month for access (presumably because I already a monthly fee of $5 for the mobile Internet), or $3 for a 24-hour period.
Sigh.
The frustrating part-both for me and for Verizon, I imagine-is that the carrier did everything else it could to get me to become a Vcast subscriber. A call to Verizon’s public relations department confirmed that I was targeted because the carrier had correctly profiled me as a sports fan. And the operator made it easy to kick the tires on ESPN Mobile, too, requiring nothing more than a quick text in response to the original pitch.
But that was the rub, apparently. A spokeswoman told me that Verizon’s policy is to require users to make a phone call to request any changes in rate plans, minimizing the possibility that a child, for instance, could upgrade the service on a parent’s account. The representative could not explain why I was seemingly allowed to accept the offer via SMS, or why I received confirmation of a service I didn’t receive.
I believe Verizon’s tack is the right one. By creating customer profiles and luring them with free trials of relevant content, the carrier is minimizing the risk of alienating users and maximizing the chances subscribers will step into the world of mobile content.
But the lesson for carriers is a valuable one-execution is crucial in monetizing wireless data services. If you’re going to make the pitch, be prepared for the customer to swing. And then be ready to make the play.